(San Diego, Ca.) - More than 16,000 Pacific Fleet Sailors and Marines will deploy for a six-month overseas assignment beginning Friday. Naval forces of the USS Carl Vinson Carrier Battle Group (CVBG) and USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) will depart their homeports and bases over the next month.

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), based in Bremerton, Wash, will deploy November 6, 1998. Ships based in San Diego will depart November 9 and 10 and join Carl Vinson for the transit across the Pacific Ocean, joining up with submarines based in Pearl Harbor. The USS Boxer ARG, based in San Diego, will deploy December 5, with more than 2,200 Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (13th MEU), based at Camp Pendleton, California, embarked.

The USS Carl Vinson Battle Group and USS Boxer ARG will relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln CVBG and the USS Essex ARG, which have been forward deployed for the past five months to the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean and the Arabian Gulf.

During its preparations for deployment the USS Carl Vinson CVBG and USS Boxer ARG participated in a Pacific Joint Task Force
Exercise (JTFEX) in the Hawaiian operating area during Rim of the Pacific 98 exercise. JTFEX tested the force's ability to respond to
situations it might encounter during the upcoming six-month deployment.

USS Carl Vinson is America's third Nimitz class aircraft carrier. Displacing nearly 95,000 tons, Carl Vinson is home to more than 5,000 Sailors as well as approximately 75-80 combat and support aircraft. With the unique advantage of nuclear propulsion, the ship can steam for months at a time with little outside sustainment. From its 4.5 acre flight deck, she can quickly launch and recover the world's most modern military aircraft that operate with other elements of the U.S. Armed Forces as well as those of allied nations.

The U.S Navy continues to pursue a clear strategy of interdiction from the sea, which focuses on the littoral regions of the globe-those regions on or near a coastline. This type of warfare is perfectly suited for the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.

USS Boxer is one of the largest and most capable multi-purpose amphibious platforms ever built. It is equipped to perform command and control functions, support both aircraft and surface landing craft, and conduct large-scale amphibious assaults. In addition to three air-cushioned landing craft, USS Boxer carries AV-8 Harrier jets and attack and transport helicopters.

Demonstrating teamwork and the inherent mobility and flexibility of naval forces, the USS Carl Vinson CVBG and USS Boxer ARG can travel more than 500 miles a day while simultaneously deploying to separate geographic regions. With Tomahawk cruise missiles, tactical aircraft and combat-ready Marines, the forces will provide theater commanders with a wide range of capabilities.